Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word
by vellaky
Summary: OneShot "Do you ever get used to this whole 'you hurt, I hurt' gig?" A missing scene at the end of Long Live the Queen. A fluffy piece between Piper and Paige because there's not nearly enough out there...


**Hey all. Watching every single episode of Charmed in 8 months got the plot bunnies working into overdrive. This is basically the start of Piper and Paige bonding because, let's face it, they never really started to... it was just kind of like 'I don't like you, I'm not ready to accept you as my sister' and then it was all 'Okay, we're sisters'... but we never really saw how it got to that point. Aside from that, I feel Paige was owed an apology after what she was put through with Cole and Piper and Phoebe not believing her.**

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Paige snuggled up to her distraught sister and held her hand tightly when she felt an arm wrap around her stomach. She had expected Phoebe to be bad... but this was so much worse. With every hiccup Phoebe let out, Paige's eyes welled with more tears. Every now and then she wold squeeze Phoebe's hand; a sisterly gesture to show her that no matter how alone she felt, she was far from it. A gesture that was supposed to bring comfort only brought more hurt and Phoebe would let out another cry, burying her head into her little sister's shoulder and feeling her older sister's grasp tighten around her.

Paige heard her breathing become softer and for a minute, she thought that Phoebe was calming down. It wasn't until she felt Phoebe's body go limp and her breathing even out that she realised she had cried herself right to sleep. She stayed rooted to her spot on Phoebe's bed for a full fifteen minutes just to ensure Phoebe was indeed asleep before slowly freeing herself from her sister's hold. She needed to get out of there for a bit. The tension in the air overwhelmed the youngest sister and she struggled to breathe. She sat up slowly, careful not to disturb Phoebe and pushed off the bed softly before walking out of the bedroom and into the bathroom.

She looked at herself in the mirror; her usually pale face was red, blotchy and puffy. She sighed shakily and turned on the taps, splashing her face with cold water and heading into her bedroom when she was done.

Paige had not wanted to be right. As she sat down on her bed, bringing her knees up to her chest and resting the small of her back on the head of the bed, she wished she was wrong. At the very least she wished things could have turned out differently.

The sound of soft knocking tore Paige out of her silent musings and she looked to the door to see her older sister standing there awkwardly. Paige tensed up. She had only known Piper and Phoebe for twelve months and had obviously not expected to be welcomed into the family with open arms. It was Phoebe who had made her feel accepted and though, admittedly, they were both trying she still felt awkward around Piper.

The two stared at each other for a few beats before Piper spoke. "Can I come in?" She asked quietly. Paige nodded her head and watched as Piper walked into her room and sat down on the side of Paige's bed, facing her. An awkward silence passed between them, with the two looking anywhere but at each other. Deciding it had gone on long enough, Piper cleared her throat to get her baby sister to look at her. "You okay?"

She ducked her head and picked at her cuticles. "Do you ever get used to this whole 'you hurt, I hurt' gig?"

Piper smiled softly. "No," she answered honestly. When she saw Paige slump even more, she added, "But you move on when they've moved on." She watched as Paige nodded her head with almost no emotion. She may not have known Paige for long, but she knew there was something more to it. And if she knew Paige as well as she thought she did within the time given to her and with how much she actually got to know her, she had an idea as to what else might have been on her mind. "Phoebe's a strong woman, Paige. She'll hurt for a while but then she'll move on. You didn't do anything wrong by not trusting him."

At this, Paige looked up at Piper, confusion etched across her porcelain-like features.

"Your instincts saved us," she explained. Though she looked her youngest sister in the eyes, she couldn't hide her embarrassment and couldn't help but feel ashamed as she added, "and I'm sorry I didn't believe you sooner. I shouldn't have doubted you just because you haven't been at this as long as Phoebe or I have. Don't ever doubt your instincts just because someone else does, okay?"

"Okay," Paige replied softly, nodding her head to add emphasis.

For a split second Piper made a move to hug Paige. But it was too much... too awkward. Instead she shifted uncomfortably in her spot and cleared her throat. "I should get back to Phoebe. I don't want her waking up alone." She stood up and started walking out of Paige's room, stopping when she didn't hear Paige behind her. "Are you coming back in?"

"Give me a couple of minutes?"

Piper nodded her head and continued out and into Phoebe's room.

Paige took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. She smiled to herself. It wasn't full blown acceptance but they were getting there. She slowly got up off the bed and followed Piper into their sister's bedroom. They had reached a mutual understanding. As Paige settled on the foot of Phoebe's bed and watched as she slept, she stole a quick glance at Piper who smiled warmly at her. Nodding inwardly, Paige came to the conclusion that yes, they would all be okay.


End file.
